The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

Dear Editor,

Take a moment and thank your volunteer firefighters in Columbia and Walla Walla County (Waitsburg). They are on duty for us, providing first class, responsive fire and property protection, including education for rural forest homeowners.

Our volunteers choose to protect us. They serve our rural communities at the their own expense, skipping time with their families, especially in our time of need. They are on duty during holidays, weekends and after midnight. Our quality of life here is much improved by the sacrifices these special volunteers make on a day-to-day basis.

This Independence Day weekend, please acknowledge that our area is suffering a drought and heat wave of unusual proportions. Many people celebrate the 4th of July with fireworks and incendiary devices that shoot skyward. The Department of Natural Resources and USDA Forest Service have banned fireworks on State and federally owned public forestlands. A seasonal burn ban is also in effect on National Forest lands from June 1 through October 1, 2015.

Burn bans are currently in effect for both Columbia and Walla Walla County.

Enjoy this weekend of summer with a visit to the local swimming pool, Snake or Touchet River. Cool off and share a picnic with family and friends at a local park, campground, State Park or National Forest.

But please, leave ALL fireworks at home! Better yet, plan to welcome in the New Year (2016) on New Year’s Eve on Thursday, December 31, 2015. Blast to your heart’s content! Certainly the fire danger will be low to non-existent and we may even have snow on the ground! A lovely accompaniment to sky-high displays of fireworks.

Today. Breathe deep. View the crystal clear mountains. Watch the stars. Our air is clean now, but it takes all of us to ensure a safe, fire and smoke-free summer. And thank you, all volunteer firefighters. You know who you are.

Lisa Naylor

Dayton